Equatorial Guinea Police Beat 2 U.S. Deportees at Hotel Prison Holding 29
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 18
Equatorial Guinea Police Beat 2 U.S. Deportees at Hotel Prison Holding 29
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 18
Summary
Two men deported from the United States to Equatorial Guinea were recently hooded, bound, beaten with guns and shoved down stairs by police at Hotel Bamy, according to witnesses, lawyers and Amnesty International.
The men said the assault was meant to stop them from telling outsiders about worsening conditions and rising violence inside the hotel, where 29 deportees from multiple countries are being held indefinitely.
Hotel Bamy, on the outskirts of Malabo, functions as a de facto prison guarded by armed police around the clock, even though the detainees have not been charged with crimes in Equatorial Guinea.
The case highlights a broader contradiction in U.S. deportation deals with authoritarian states: countries accept deportees but often give them no legal status, documents or right to work, leaving them exposed to abuse.
Will international courts intervene before more detainees vanish into a shadowy network of unregulated offshore deportations?
What happens when a secretive international deal strips protected asylum seekers of their rights and traps them in violent limbo?
"Trapped and Abused: 29 U.S. Deportees Held in Equatorial Guinea Under Secret $7.5 Million Deal"
Overview
The U.S. government, under the Trump administration, transferred $7.5 million in humanitarian funds to Equatorial Guinea to accept noncitizen deportees, bypassing normal oversight and raising concerns in Congress. This led to the indefinite detention of third-country nationals at Hotel Bamy, where they were held under armed guard without legal rights, trapped in legal limbo, and subjected to violence and communication blackouts. Some deportees were forcibly repatriated to countries where they faced persecution, resulting in statelessness and severe danger. International legal groups responded by filing a lawsuit and urging Equatorial Guinea to halt these repatriations, as families and detainees faced extreme panic and health hazards.